This is a very important and sensitive question with significant biblical implications. The short answer is: While there are times to expose false teaching, simply “pointing out” a ministry online because you believe they are wrong is rarely the right first step, and often not the right step at all.
The Bible provides clear guidance on how to address sin and error, and it emphasizes humility, love, and restoration, not public shaming or self-appointed judgment.
Here’s a breakdown of biblical principles to consider:
1. The “Matthew 18 Principle” for Dealing with a Brother/Sister:
This is the foundational principle for addressing sin within the Christian community. While it primarily addresses personal sin against you, its spirit extends to errors within the body of Christ.
- Matthew 18:15-17 (paraphrased):
- Step 1: Go privately. “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you.” Before anything else, if you have a concern about a ministry’s teaching or practice, your first step should be to try to contact them directly and privately. Do so humbly, with a spirit of gentleness, seeking to understand and correct, not condemn.
- Step 2: Take witnesses. “But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” If the private approach fails, involve other mature, spiritual believers who can objectively assess the situation and lend their wisdom.
- Step 3: Tell the church. “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.” This step refers to the local church body where the individual or ministry leader is accountable. This is an escalation to formal church discipline, not a jump to public condemnation.
2. Galatians 6:1 – Restore Gently:
- “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.”
- This verse emphasizes the spirit in which correction should occur: gentleness. Public criticism online rarely embodies gentleness; it’s often inflammatory and judgmental.
- It also warns us to “watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.” Are you acting out of genuine concern for truth and the other ministry’s spiritual health, or out of pride, a desire to be “right,” or even a form of spiritual gossip?
3. The Dangers of Public Slander and Gossip:
- Proverbs 10:18: “Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips and spreads slander is a fool.”
- James 4:11-12: “Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law… Who are you to judge your neighbor?” Online “pointing out” can easily devolve into slander, gossip, and judging another’s heart or motives, which is strictly forbidden.
- Romans 14:10-13: “Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God… Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.”
4. When Public Exposure Might Be Appropriate (with extreme caution):
There are rare instances where public exposure of a ministry’s error might become necessary, but these are typically for very serious and persistent issues, and usually after private and semi-private attempts at resolution have failed:
- Heresy: If a ministry is teaching something that fundamentally contradicts essential Christian doctrine (e.g., denying the deity of Christ, salvation by grace through faith, the Trinity). This is not about minor theological disagreements but core, soul-damning error.
- Sexual Immorality/Abuse: If there is documented, unrepentant sexual immorality, abuse, or financial fraud that poses a direct danger to people. (1 Timothy 5:20 suggests rebuking elders who persist in sin publicly, but this is usually within the context of the accountable church body).
- False Prophets/Predatory Practices: If a ministry is clearly operating as a cult or engaging in practices that exploit or harm people financially, emotionally, or spiritually, particularly those who are vulnerable.
Even in these extreme cases, consider:
- Your authority: Are you an apostle, prophet, or recognized theological authority? A lone voice on social media has little inherent authority.
- Your expertise: Have you thoroughly researched the issue? Do you possess deep theological understanding to accurately discern error?
- Your motivation: Is it genuinely for the protection of others and the glory of God, or for personal notoriety, anger, or a desire to “win” an argument?
- Your method: Is it done with sobriety, love, and a desire for truth, or with inflammatory rhetoric and personal attacks?
- The evidence: Is it based on clear, undeniable evidence or just a “feeling” or minor disagreement?
Before you post online, ask yourself:
- Have I tried to contact them privately and directly?
- Am I absolutely certain their teaching is heretical, not just different from my interpretation?
- Am I operating in love and humility, or anger and pride?
- Am I truly seeking their restoration or their downfall?
- Will my online post truly help anyone, or will it simply sow discord and division?
- Am I ready to be proven wrong and apologize if I am?
Conclusion:
The default biblical approach to concerns about a fellow Christian ministry is private communication, gentle correction, and a focus on restoration. Public online shaming should be an absolute last resort, reserved for only the most egregious and unrepentant errors that directly endanger people or core doctrine, and even then, it must be done with extreme humility, prayer, and clear evidence, not mere speculation or theological disagreement. Often, the best course of action is to pray for them, disengage from their content, and focus on supporting ministries that genuinely teach and live out the Gospel.